Warren County’s former county attorney was charged Monday with possession of methamphetamine and related paraphernalia.

Bryan Tingle, 45, was charged after being pulled over in Carlisle May 4 with a quarter-gram of the highly addictive drug and three glass pipes, law enforcement officials said. He faces an initial court appearance in Warren County on May 24.

Tingle could not be reached Monday night for comment.

Warren County authorities, including the county attorney and Carlisle’s police chief, could not say why it took almost two weeks to file charges. But they did say the case was transferred quickly to the area prosecutions division of the Iowa attorney general’s office to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

Tingle, of Carlisle, was charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, a serious misdemeanor, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor.

He was spotted by a narcotics detective in an unmarked car holding a glass pipe in his right hand while traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 65, near mile-marker 72, according to a probable-cause affidavit. The detective requested police assistance, and Tingle was pulled over in Carlisle.

“The defendant admitted, after being advised of his Miranda rights, to using methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine and possessing drug paraphernalia,” the detective’s sworn affidavit said.

The arrest was made by the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, with assistance by Carlisle police.

Police Chief Jason Doll said the amount discovered in Tingle’s vehicle was a “personal-use amount.”

Elected in 2007, Tingle was defeated last fall by Republican John Criswell, 61. Criswell served in the position prior to Tingle from 1975 to 1989.

Tingle, a former member of the 101st Airborne, does not appear to have any prior convictions, other than driving offenses, a search of online court records shows.

Tingle’s arrest marks at least the second arrest in recent years of a county prosecutor in Iowa on drug charges.

Last year, Jeffrey TeKippe, a former assistant Pottawattamie County, lost his law license after his 2006 arrest for stealing cocaine from his office’s evidence room.